Twins Minor League Report (7/17): Rosario Sizzles

Much like the major league squads, the best players at the Triple-A level gathered in Reno, Nevada for their All-Star Game Wednesday evening. The Rochester Red Wings had two representatives, Chris Colabello and Andrew Albers, and they both played roles in different parts of the game. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Colabello was the starting first baseman for the International League team and he batted in the third spot in the order. After not hitting any home runs in the Triple-A Home Run Derby, Colabello looked to make some noise with his bat. He got the scoring started with an RBI double in the top of the first. He ended the night going 1-for-3.

Albers pitched the fourth inning and things didn't go exactly perfectly. The first two batters reached on singles; a passed ball moved both men into scoring position. Albers coaxed a ground out that drove in a run from the next batter. With a runner on third and one out, Albers struck out the next batter for the second out. The final batter of the inning hit a ball hard but it was right at the center fielder.

New Britain Rock Cats 4, Harrisburg Senators 3Box ScoreThe Rock Cats pounded out 11 hits, squeaking out a one-run victory over the Senators. The win brought New Britain to within two games of .500. Since the All-Star Game last Wednesday, the club has posted a 3-4 record. Tomorrow marks the start of an important eight-game home stand over the next seven days.

DJ Baxendale pitched admirably, throwing 5.2 innings and limiting the Senators to two runs. He gave up five hits and struck out two while walking one. After starting the year 7-0 with the Miracle, his victory on Wednesday gave him with a 3-3 record at Double-A. He's allowed two earned runs or fewer in his last three outings.

Eddie Rosario has been on a tear lately. He's in the midst of a seven-game hit streak and in his last 10 games he is batting .366/.409/.561. In this afternoon's contest, he went 3-for-5 with half his team's RBI. Rosario is hitting .306/.374/.494 with 12 extra-base hits in the 31 games since his promotion.

Danny Santana did a good job setting the table ahead of Rosario. He went 2-for-4 i with his 16th double and he scored two runs out of the leadoff spot. Santana has a nice five-game hitting streak of his own, so he and Rosario are doing a fine job at the top of the order.

Fort Myers Miracle 6, Dunedin Blue Jays 4Box ScoreKennys Vargas came up with a big two-run double in the top of the ninth to help put a stop to the Miracle's six game losing streak. Recent games saw Vargas deep in a 1-for-18 slump and he had already gone 0-2 in this game with two strikeouts. The big hit from Vargas wasn't the only story from this game.

DJ Hicks, in his Florida State League debut, got the Miracle on the board early with a two-run home run. Byron Buxton helped add to the lead when he hit a fly ball that was lost in the lights. He ended up at third base and eventually came in to score. Aderlin Mejia, Matt Koch, and JD Williams each added two hits.

Tyler Duffey was excellent on the mound but he ended up with a no-decision. He tossed seven shutout innings while allowing one hit. Through the game he had to work around four walks but it helped he was able to strike out seven.

The Miracle brought a lead into the eighth inning before a rough outing from Nelvin Fuentes. He gave up four hits including the go-ahead grand slam. After the Vargas double, Zach Jones came on in the ninth to earn his tenth save.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Lake County Captains 6 (12 innings)Box Score This game continued long into the night as neither club could gain the advantage. Both teams managed big four run innings in the early going before reaching a stalemate at the end of nine.

Christian Powell started the game and he made it through five innings after a rough fourth. Overall, he gave up five runs on seven hits including two long balls. He wasn't around for the end of this game as it turned into a battle of the bullpens. Dallas Gallant recorded five outs and he did so by striking out all five. There were some wild moments among those five outs as he threw a couple wild pitches and base runners-- one walked and one reached first on a third strike wild pitch--were on in both frames he worked.

David Hurlbut also struck out five after coming on into a tough situation, in the bottom of the seventh, with a runner at third base. One unearned run was scored against him as he allowed only one hit in over two innings of. The Kernels struck out 19 Captains with the help of two strikeouts each for Alex Muren and Tim Shibuya in the last two innings.

Jorge Polanco helped to stop what seemed like an endless game which lasted four hours and six minutes. His RBI single in the top of the 12th inning was the first run for the Kernels since the sixth inning. Earlier in the game Jeremias Pineda hit his second home run of the year, a three-run shot. He ended the night 3-for-5 with four runs scored. Niko Goodrum was 4-5 with two walks.

GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 4Box ScoreThe bullpen for the GCL Twins gave up three runs in the final three innings to cough up the lead. The Rays took an early lead by scoring in the bottom of the first. The Twins came back and scored three runs in the middle frames to regain the lead. Unfortunately, it didn't last and the team dropped one game under .500 and 2.5 games out of first place.

Zach Larson powered the offense with two hits, including his fourth home run of the year. Chad Christensen had the only other extra-base hit with a triple and he came around to score. Alex Swim has a five-game hitting streak after going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Alex Wimmers continued his comeback from Tommy John surgery. He pitched two innings and gave up one earned run. He was able to strike out three batters but he did walk a couple. Stephen Gonsalves tossed three innings, struck out three, and gave up his first run of the year, raising his ERA to 1.13. Daniel Sattler was charged with the loss after giving up two runs on four hits in one inning.